A US-Iran ceasefire that began in early April has “terminated” hostilities between the two sides for the purposes of an approaching congressional war powers deadline, a senior official of the Trump administration said on Thursday.
Donald Trump faced a deadline on Friday to end the Iran war or make the case to Congress for extending it, but the date was most likely to pass without altering the course of the war.
“For war powers resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28, have terminated,” said the official, describing the administration’s thinking. There has been no exchange of fire between the US armed forces and Iran since a fragile ceasefire began more than three weeks ago, the official added.
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president must terminate its military campaign at the end of the 60-day window, unless Congress has declared war or authorized the use of military force. Earlier, analysts and congressional aides had said they expected Trump to notify Congress that he planned a 30-day extension or to disregard the deadline, with the administration arguing the ceasefire marked an end to the conflict.
But Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, testifying earlier on Capitol Hill, said the 60-day clock was in fact paused due to the current ceasefire. “We are in a cease-fire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses, or stops, in a cease-fire,” Mr. Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Democrats and critics have raised concerns with that interpretation, with Harold Hongju Koh, a Yale Law School professor who was a legal adviser to Barack Obama’s state department, telling the New York Times: “There is no pause button in the War Power Resolution.”
It is a politically perilous time for Republicans, with public frustration mounting over the conflict and gas prices.
The Republican Senate majority leader, John Thune, said he didn’t plan on a vote to authorize force in Iran or otherwise weigh in. “I’m listening carefully to what the members of our conference are saying, and at this point I don’t see that,” he said on Thursday.
Republican senator Kevin Cramer said he would vote for an authorization of war if Trump asked for it, but he questioned if the war powers resolution – passed during the Vietnam War era as a way for Congress to claw back its power – is even constitutional.
Another Republican, Lisa Murkowski, said in a floor speech on Thursday that she will introduce a limited authorized use of military force when the Senate returns from the one-week recess if the administration has not yet presented what she called a “credible plan”.
“I do not believe we should engage in open-ended military action without clear accountability,” Murkowski said. “Congress has a role.”
Other Republicans have said in recent weeks they would eventually like to see a vote.
Against that increasingly fraught backdrop, on Thursday the Republican-led Senate again blocked a Democratic attempt to stop Trump’s war in Iran, rejecting a war powers resolution that would have limited the conflict until Congress authorizes further military action.
The vote was 47-50, with two Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky – voting in favor and one Democrat – John Fetterman of Pennsylvania – opposing it.
It was the sixth time this year that Democrats have forced a vote on a war powers resolution related to the war. All have failed, mostly along party lines.
Adam Schiff, the resolution’s author, said Thursday’s vote was critical. Friday marks 60 days since the Trump administration notified Congress that it was carrying out strikes on Iran.
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president must terminate its military campaign at the end of the 60-day window, unless Congress has declared war or authorized the use of military force. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, testifying earlier on Capitol Hill, said the 60-day clock was paused due to the current ceasefire with Iran, though Democrats and critics have raised concerns with that interpretation.
The US Constitution says only Congress, not the president, can declare war, but the curb does not apply for operations the administration casts as short-term or countering an immediate threat.
Trump’s Republican party holds a narrow majority in both chambers of Congress.
Earlier this month, the House had also narrowly rejected another war powers resolution meant to curb military action in Iran. The resolution introduced by Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, failed by a vote of 213-214, with one Republican member voting present. It required at least two more votes to pass, as tied votes fail in the House.
In a sign that Democrats had solidified in opposition to the war, three congressmen who had voted against a previous resolution in March – Henry Cuellar of Texas, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Juan Vargas of California – voted in favor of this attempt. Jared Golden of Maine was the sole Democrat to vote in opposition, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky the only Republican to vote for passage. Ohio’s Warren Davidson voted present, after voting in favor last month.
With Reuters and Associated Press
